He studied Medicine and Science at the Complutense University of Madrid and earned a PhD in both disciplines (1843 and 1846, respectively).

In 1846,  Miguel Colmeiro held the chair of Agriculture and Botanical at Barcelona University and subsequently the chair of Natural History in Seville and since 1957, the chair of Organography and Vegetal Physiology in Madrid.

In 1968, Dr. Colmeiro held the position of Director of the Botanical Garden of Madrid and remained in that position until his death. At that time, the Botanical Garden was connected to the academic activity of the Faculty of Sciences in Madrid. In 1871, he took part in the initial line-up of the Spanish Society of Natural History and was elected its first president.

Dr. Colmeiro was involved with botanical history of Spain and held membership in the Royal Academics of Medicine, Science and Language. During his higher education career, he served as Dean at the Faculty of Science and held the position of Rector of Complutense University from 1890 to 1894.

Miguel Colmeiro y Penido's Writings (UCM Library)

Works about Miguel Colmeiro y Penido (UCM Library)

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